PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL/ABBAS Abbas signs onto International Criminal Court after U.N. loss

Record ID: 398890

  • Title: PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL/ABBAS Abbas signs onto International Criminal Court after U.N. loss
  • Date: 31st December 2014
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (DECEMBER 31, 2014) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS SURROUNDED BY HONOUR GUARDS NEAR FORMER PALESTINIAN LEADER, YASSER ARAFAT, TOMB FLOWERS ON YASSER ARAFAT TOMB
  • Embargoed: 15th January 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA1N510YC39XJJ2JOXBZWVWEM9I
  • Story Text: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed on to 20 international agreements on Wednesday, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a day after a bid for independence by 2017 failed at the United Nations Security Council.
    The move, certain to anger Israel and the U.S., paves the way for the court to take jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestinian lands and investigate the conduct of Israeli and Palestinian leaders over more than a decade of bloody conflict.
    There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials on the move, but deputy foreign minister Tzachi Hanegbi said earlier on Wednesday that joining the ICC would expose the Palestinians.
    "I think that the whole region as we know, is burning because of many conflicts. What put out these conflicts is solving the Palestinian-Israeli cause according to the international law. We are not asking for more but will not accept with less (than that). Tonight, we have 20 agreements that we will sign tonight. But it is our right to sign all the (agreements) with the international organizations and this will come later. Now, if (PLO members) agree on this, I'm asking them to raise their hands (for voting), to continue," Abbas said.
    "This is the first signature on the international criminal court (agreement)," he added.
    Palestinian officials on Tuesday said American opposition made inevitable the defeat last night of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state by late 2017 after a no more than a year of peace negotiations.
    The United States and Australia voted against the bid, while eight countries voted yes and another five abstained. The Palestinians were unable to achieve a hoped-for nine votes which would have forced the U.S. to exercise its veto as one of the council's five permanent members, in a potentially embarrassing move.
    Other agreements approved by Abbas included several articles on the court's jurisdiction, commitments against banned weapons and cluster munitions along with less controversial pledges on the political rights of women, navigation and the environment.
    Abbas led a mass festival of the anniversary of the establishment of Fatah movement at the Palestinian presidential compound, where he put flowers on the former Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, tomb and lightened a torch at the festival.
    "They don't want to give us our right. The right is not given, the right is taken. We have to work on getting our right. The security council is not 'the end of the world'. And this last session, last night, you certainly stayed up for it, is not the end of the path. We have what we have to say, and we have what we have to do, starting from tonight." Abbas said to Palestinians attending the festival.
    Palestinians seek a state in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem - lands Israel captures in the 1967 Middle East War.
    Peace talks mediated by the United States collapsed in April in a dispute over Israeli settlement-building and a prisoner release deal.
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